Jane
Emily 1820 - 1896

Ellen 1824 -
1907

William 1811 - 1899
(NZ)

John Williams 1818 -
1853

Elizabeth 1822 -
1883

Edwin
1827 - 1897(Aus)

Samuel 1813 -
Canada

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Mary Ann 1830 -

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1811
Nov 7
1811 Dec 13

William Colenso born in Penzance,
Cornwall, England - the eldest of nine
children.
Baptised

1826
- 1833

William became a printer's
apprentice in St Ives, Cornwall
He started work for Richard Watts - a
London printing firm to the Church
Missionary Society

1834
- 1840

William left for Paihia, Bay of
Islands on behalf of the Church Missionary
Society to run a small printing press
He published many pamphlets and books
translated into Maori including 27,000
copies of the Book of Common Prayer which
he took with him on journeys into areas
covered by the Mission and beyond
William persuaded a reluctant Bishop
Selwyn to accept him as a candidate for
ordination

1841
- 1844

Inland explorations became more
adventurous both to spread the word but
also to collect botanical specimens - an
interest that had been boosted by the
visit of Darwin in 1835.
Bishop Selwyn tried his best to delay the
ordination by setting out pre-requisites.
One of these was marriage to a suitable
partner. Elisabeth Fairburn was the
daughter of a lay missionary who happened
to speak fluent Maori and satisfied the
criteria.They were married at Otahuhu,
Auckland 27
Apr1843William spent most of his time away
on explorations.Frances Mary Colenso born1 Feb 1844Elisabeth became instrumental in
the translation of the Bible into Maori
which Bishop Selwyn was keen to have
finished and for William to oversee its
publication and so delayed the ordination
further.
Finally William was ordained Deacon. 22 Sep 1844In December William, his wife and
daughter leave to set up a new mission at
Hawke's Bay which covered a vast area
allowing William to pursue both
Evangelical and Botanical interests.
However, his wife was isolated on the
mission.

1845 - 1853

Ridley Latimer Colenso born23
Sep 1845Such isolation with a young family
bred resentment and to avoid conflict
William found himself seeking solace in
the company of Ripeka Meretene who was a
Maori girl that had been brought from
Paihia as part of the household.
Ripeka Meretene was married in 1850 but
was already pregnant with William's
child.Wiremu (William) Colenso was
born28 May 1851Frances and Ridley are taken to
Auckland by their uncle.
William was suspended as a Deacon and
dismissed from the mission.
Elisabeth left in 1853 with Wiremu to
rejoin her own family but they would not
accept Wiremu and sent him to his
relatives in the north.

William spent the next few years as
a recluse suffering the ridicules of the
Maori people whom he had chastised for
various sins including adultery

1858
- 1867

Having reassessed his life William
put his interests into local politics.
Wiremu returned to his father in 1861.
In the same year William was
elected to the General Assembly
representing Napier Town. He was
commissioned to publish a Maori dictionary
- but the work was never finished and only
a small section published.

During this time Elisabeth took
Frances and Ridley to England. Some
recorded
events indicate that Elisabeth was
known to Queen Victoria who was mourning
the death of Prince Albert. Both Frances
and Ridley returned to New Zealand with
their mother in1867
but it
was not long before Ridley left
for England again. It was apparent that Wiremu was
also in England at this time.

1875
-

1899
Feb 10

William was appointed a School
Inspector
In1894the
suspension as Deacon was revoked and
William was readmitted to the Anglican
Clergy.William died. He left money to the
town of Penzance which was used for the
Colenso dole.

This map shows the main
explorations that William made between
1838 and
1844.

1838
- The first
exploration was from Hicks Bay down the
East Coast to Taranganui.

1841 -
1842 -
Starting at Hicks Bay and going south to
Poverty Bay William then turned west
heading for Waikeramoana inland. Moving
northwards through the Urewera region he
eventually headed west to Rotorua and then
made for Waikato on the west coast passing
through Matamata on the way. Following the
coast northwards via Manukau and Kaipara
Harbours he made his way back to
Paihia.

1843 -
1844 - Again
starting at Hicks Bay and treading
familiar ground south to Taranganui where
he and fellow explorer missionaries
travelled by boat to the south east
section known as the Wairapara Coast. The
main plan was to find a site for a mission
- which they did having been guided
northwards they decided on a place south
west of where Napier is today. Travelling
round to the north of Hawke Bay William
left his fellow missionaries to return to
Waikeramoana and other villages farther
north taking his own census as he went.
This time he travelled to Waikato via
Tauranga and then crossed land to Otahuhu
which is just south of Auckland. From
there he made his way north to Kaipara
Harbour and then further on to
Paihia.

Click the image
to be transported to William
Colenso College formerly 'Colenso
High School'

Click the image
to view a photograph of
William in the 1860's
and here for a photograph ofElisabeth
Fairburn